Muscle Activation Techniques

A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to attend a weekend-long seminar dedicated to the Muscle Activation Techniques (MAT) Jumpstart Program. MAT is a systematic approach for evaluating and correcting muscular imbalances that contribute to injury, impeded recovery, and compromised performance. MAT looks at muscle tightness being secondary to muscle weakness. It is a system of checks and balances that proves whether exercise is enhancing efficient motion or re-enforcing compensation.

As a class, we partnered up and performed a Range of Motion (ROM) evaluation in order to find potential muscle weakness. Next we performed a joint positional test to confirm that weakness. Thirdly, to address that weakness, we performed low-intensity isometrics to induce a response. We then retested the joint position and reevaluated the ROM. It’s a fantastic tool with a proven methodology unlike many assessments out there.

As a fitness professional, it is my job to provide my clients with an unparalleled exercise experience. If I am not able to help them, I feel as though I am doing them a disservice. I love learning and will continue to learn without feeling ashamed to ask questions or consult someone who may have more expertise. Fitness is a never-ending journey. We can at least take that journey comfortably.

What Is Exercise?

Exercise is a process, not a program, of stimulation and response/adaptation. It is the body challenged appropriately—an internal tug of war between muscles and resistance around bones and joints, which stimulate a muscular response. The exercise must have a specific joint position, but not necessarily a motion, depending on the goal. There must be a specific resistance, a specific time/duration, a specific effort/exertion, and a specific goal/intention.

As a Resistance Training Specialist, I’ve come to understand that there are no rules of exercise; there are only rules of the body and force. The structure of the individual will dictate her function and capabilities. If you don’t have the capacity or tolerance for details and no eye for precision, then you have no business working with the body.

Machines vs. Free Weights & Body Weights

You can walk into most gyms and see machines everywhere—up and down the aisles, back-to-back, side-by-side. Many times, these machines are being used incorrectly or not being used at all. There are even gyms nowadays that are not carrying machines, preferring to use their floor space for more “functional” training (a topic I won’t get into right now). Meanwhile, machines have gained a bad reputation because some people believe that they require less control and are too easy.

First of all, a goal must be established for an individual based on what would best serve her and her structure. I may not have a beginning, overweight 350 lb. client performing bodyweight exercises because they still have to contend with their own body weight. Taking into account their safety, joint structure, and capabilities, they may very well require offloading. Body weight challenge can be a great tool when utilized properly, but it should not automatically be  prescribed for everyone. The idea that free weights are more neurologically challenging and require more control is also misguided. Again, it depends on the goal, the type of challenge, the intention, and the cueing from a trainer. Body weight and free weight exercises aren’t bad, and I often choose to incorporate them, but they often receive undeserved glorification from many so-called experts and fitness professionals.

Machines, when manufactured properly and hand-picked by a knowledgable exercise professional, can provide a phenomenal, unparalleled experience. Machines offer so much opportunity when coupled with a trainer who can recognize moment arms, lever arms, how much torque is being applied, where torque is being created, the resistance profile, and how it should match the individual’s strength profile, not to mention joint motion and position, time, effort, intention, and its effect on the individual’s structure. Most trainers look at a machine and write it off automatically without understanding how it works or the opportunity it provides. They see a big hunk of metal that takes up space—a useless contraption. But I see a masterpiece and endless opportunities awaiting a body ready to be built through resistance training.

Pre-workout Warm-up

I constantly hear trainers asking their clients if they’ve warmed up. I agree that it is helpful to obtain this information, but if the client says he or she has not warmed up, I don’t think they should be told to hop on the treadmill for five minutes. It’s almost an automatic response from the trainer, and it’s a reinforced expectation from the client. Well, hopping on the treadmill for five minutes can be a good warm-up if the goal is to improve the speed or duration of walking on a treadmill. However, the five minute treadmill warmup is misunderstood as a reliable method for readying the body for a workout. What if the trainer takes that client through a series of upper body exercises? Or lower body exercises that require a greater degree of knee flexion or hip flexion, which exceeds the degree performed on the treadmill? With only a five minute treadmill warmup, the body is ill-prepared for these activities.

What if we, as trainers, prepared our clients for the specific activities we will have them perform that session? Let’s check ranges our clients’ range of motion to see what he/she has available and assess his/her tolerance. Let’s call this their “active range of motion.” If we’re going to work on their back and chest, then let’s be sure and warm up the back and chest muscles specific to their active range of motion. Triceps and biceps day? Well, the treadmill warm up isn’t going to help that much. Instead, specifically designed, custom-built exercises will warm up the specific muscles of that specific individual.

Yes, old habits die hard. But we need to think about what is best for our clients as individuals. We should not be treating each individual the same because we are all structurally different and we all have a different physical makeup. Think about what is best for each person, and apply your knowledge, your experience, and the science.

Where Is Your Focus?

I see people from all walks of life enter gyms or fitness studios on a daily basis. Each person has something different on his or her mind before they enter and after they leave. It’s the in-between time that’s crucial.

Everyone has a goal specific to his/her needs, whether short-term or long-term. Some go to the gym out of habit. Some go because they are committed. Others go so they can tell people they went. But all too often, I see someone on the treadmill, elliptical, or stair master with his/her headphones in while reading a magazine, scoping out others, and watching the television simultaneously! I’m a fan of music because it can be a great motivator, but not with ten other things going on at the same time. Why exactly do we go to the gym? Talking on the phone is a big one too. Can your phone call not wait? Unless you are on your phone speaking to a motivational coach, put your phone away! On average, people spend 30-60 minutes “working out.” If the workout is your primary goal, your attention should be concentrated. If your attention is being divided by several different stimuli, you’re not spending your exercise time as efficiently as you could be. Limiting distractions enhances your experience both physically and mentally.

Find a mindset, find an intention, maintain your focus, and show up for yourself. Remember: you will get out of it what you put into it. Your efforts will dictate your results.

RTS Principles: Micro-progression

Proper progression is a tough sell. Everybody wants immediate results. However, the effects of poor progression can be severe and even systemic. Not only do we take progression too lightly, but we’re actually conditioned to think that “shocking your body” is the key to success. We’re led to believe that injurious effects are signs of a “good workout.” In fact, some professionals don’t even realize that delayed onset muscle soreness indicates of a degree of injury.

No matter how fast you want to change, your body can only adapt in microscopic steps at the cellular and chemical level. Therefore, progression should be implemented in the smallest reasonable “micro-progressive” steps. This applies to all areas that can be manipulated or progressed: control, range of motion, unstable surfaces, effort, intensity, speed, reps, sets, load, “cardio” time, etc. The bottom line is that progression is much, much more than simply adding weight or adding “wobble.”

Micro-progression is not only considered to be a key to long-term success, but also a key to reducing risk. The implementation of this RTS principle improves both tissue integrity and motor performance. So, how much is enough? The least amount of unaccustomed activity.

Strategic Variety Beats Choreography

Instead of picking out a canned, pre-planned exercise routine and spending a session watching, counting, and maintaining conversation, a trainer should be trying to visualize what is occurring inside of the body of their client. All people have structural differences (i.e. bones, joints, contractile/non-contractile tissue) that need to be taken into account when designing an exercise regimen; cookie cutter exercises published in magazines or websites serve to perpetuate inaccurate beliefs about our bodies and the personal training industry.

As trainers, we need to re-evaluate our methods and our understanding of the human body. Exercise is invasive to the body. It’s not about what’s occurring superficially; it’s about the forces applied within, like resistance and torque. Keeping in mind the goal of a specific exercise, we must constantly ensure proper joint forces, position, and motion (if any). Things continuously change during the progression of an entire repetition; clients deserve our undivided attention to monitor and, if need be, correct their exercise. We are responsible for minimizing mechanical wear (contact surfaces of joints) by strategically varying activities. This is an awesome role to play—we have the power and knowledge to actually change and alter joint forces!

If you can give clients a one-of-a-kind positive experience with long-lasting benefits, that’s pretty amazing. Chances are they wouldn’t find that just anywhere; if a trainer lacks a certain degree of knowledge, experience, or commitment, they’re coming up short.